Daniel Emmerig

Who said you can’t be an artist and a lawyer at the same time? According to Daniel Emmerig, who’s completed a combined Fine Arts / Laws degree at UNSW, it’s the perfect combination. He’s able to interrogate society from a structural point of view, in terms of how we regulate, uphold, and enforce behaviours through legislative institutions, and he’s able to fully exercise the other half of his brain exploring the world through visual expression. 

Daniel is a prolific painter and printmaker. His works suggest the influences of Reg Mombassa, Brett Whiteley, and symbolic hieroglyphic art. Full of visual references to iconic Sydney landmarks and a haunting and repeated theme of the eye of Horus (the all-seeing eye, often encased by the sun and symbolising protection, power, and health) Daniel’s primarily monochromatic aesthetic is bold and balanced. His works have broad popular appeal and are sold through Saatchi Art, Indiewalls, and Cicada Press at UNSW Art & Design.

In a recent work, Knowledge is Power, Daniel presented viewers with visual representations of concepts that have defined human civilization for millennia. Using various symbolic elements - including water, mountains, a hybrid human/bird figure, the book of knowledge, the moon encased within the sun, and of course the all-seeing-eye – this painting series explores the dual nature of power, those of liberator and oppressor.